Protein Power God/Goddess Bowl

I have so many different ways I want to start this post... Here are a few of the opening lines I've felt torn about...

1) Am I a blog stalker?? I found this recipe by reading a friend's cooking blog who in turn had written of a fondness for a third cooking blog, which I then visited... and found this recipe.
2) This recipe has a whole 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast in it!!!
3) My kid ate a whole bowl of this high veggie count, high protein count meal!
4) I decided on this recipe in about 3 minutes of furiously searching for a new recipe, but failed to take note of the kitchen equipment required.

If I could, I'd set this post up like a Choose Your Own Adventure Story, and you could pick which line to start with. Since I can't, I'll just get started.

I did stalk two other blogs to find this recipe, so I'll give them credit now. I found Oh She Glows via Pure Hunger, and have adapted the recipe slightly so that you can prepare it on your boat (or in your home) without fancy machinery or electrical energy usage. The recipe was true to the original author's claim: delicious! The original name was simply the Protein Power Goddess Bowl, but since my husband ate a lot of it, I've adapted the name a bit.

Protein Power God/Goddess Bowl

You will need:

2 cups uncooked brown rice (or however much you want to make)
1.5-2 cups uncooked lentils (you need 4 cups cooked lentils)
1/2 red onion
4 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1 red/yellow/orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 tomato, chopped
8-10 sundried tomatoes, sliced
2 large handfuls of spinach or mixed greens
1/2 cup parsley, chopped (I left this out)
Lemon wedges and olives, for garnish (I bought these but forgot to use them!)
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp olive oil for sautéing
1 cup Tahini lemon garlic dressing (recipe to follow)

1) Cook lentils and rice according to package directions. When lentils are tender, rinse with cold water, strain, and set aside. The lentils will take 15-20 minutes, depending on how tender you would like them. Keep rice covered when it is done.

2) While lentils and rice cook, make the Tahini lemon garlic dressing!

1/4 cup tahini
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (yay!!)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

FACT: When you let a jar of tahini sit in your cupboard for over two years, unopened, it will take about half an hour to re-stir it. Treat your tahini better than I did...

NOW: The original recipe called for all of the ingredients to be tossed into a food processor and processed until smooth. If you can do that, you have more power (electrical) than I do. I made my own food processor. Here is a picture:

If you have a food processor like mine, mince up the garlic as small as you possibly can. Then, funnel all the ingredients into your processor (I had to spoon the tahini).

Once, all the ingredients are in, shake baby shake!!

That's your dressing! Now, back to the main recipe.

3) In a large skillet (really large! I ended up wishing I'd used my dutch oven), heat oil over low-medium heat. Add onion, garlic, tomato, bell pepper, salt, pepper, and sundried tomatoes. Sauté for about 5 minutes over low-medium heat.

4) Now add the cooked, drained, and rinsed 4 cups of lentils and stir well. Cook for another few minutes. Add 1 cup of tahini lemon garlic dressing and stir well. Cook until it starts to bubble and then remove from heat.

5) Add in 2 really bursting big handfuls of greens and your parsley (I didn't use parsley. just forgot to buy it) and stir well again. Portion cooked brown rice into the bowl(s) and then scoop the sauté lentil mixture over the rice. Garnish with olives and a lemon wedge if preferred. Makes about 6 large portions.

This recipe really did make a lot of food! We ate very well for dinner, our daughter at a whole bowl of this delightful veggie mess, and we had enough for two huge lunches the next day. Best of all, we all want to eat it again.

Would love to hear any thoughts! We can share them with the original blogger!